The world today is passing
through probably the most difficult phase in human
history when the very survival of humanity, nay, life
itself, is gravely endangered. On one hand, scientific
and technological advancement and the globalization have
opened new vistas, on the other hand, it has created
many problems which are multiplying faster than the
efforts to contain them. Global warming and climate
change, nuclear proliferation, lawlessness and
terrorism, civil and ethnic wars and danger of third
world war are matters of global concern, besides
poverty, hunger, disease, drugs, money laundering and
many other problems. All global problems require global
solutions.

Need of the Hour

Now that the leaders of
various countries are unwilling or incapable of either
arresting the global stockpiling of weapons of mass
destruction or reversing the massive tide of
environmentally damaging and ecologically destructive
activities worldwide, the need of the hour clearly is
for an international law-making body, whose enactments
would be uniformally applicable on all the countries and
all the peoples of the world. However, world leaders
have already demonstrated their lack of statesmanship
which was clearly evident at the UN's Millennium Summit
(held from 6th to 8th September, 2000 at New York) where
even though the agenda recommended by the U.N.
Millennium Forum of Civil Society organizations and the
N.G.O.s included discussions on 'a new international
economic and political order', the biggest gathering of
Heads of State and Heads of Governments failed to come
to any conclusion in this regard. We have also seen the
outcome of the Second Millennium Summit held on 14-16
September, 2005, at New York. The much talked about
reforms of the UNO are nowhere in sight.

Global governance and empowering the International Court
of Justice

Perhaps the choice before
all who inhabit this earth, is whether the unification
of humankind will happen after unimaginable horrors
precipitated by humanity's stubborn clinging to old
patterns of behaviour, or is to be embraced now by an
act of consultative will. It needs serious
considerations whether world unity and world peace is
possible by strengthening the United Nations System or
by a totally new world order, which may also initiate
global efforts to conserve the environment, to outlaw
and eliminate all weapons of mass destruction and
address the problem of terrorism, thus safeguarding the
future of humanity and specially the world's over 2
billion children and those yet-to-be-born. Besides, for
interpretation of International/world law and for
adjudicating disputes and dispensing justice, it will be
necessary to strengthen the International Court of
Justice and to extend the jurisdiction thereof to all
nations

Strengthening the UNO

In the six decades of its
existence, the UNO has seen more people die in numerous
wars all over the world, than had died in both the world
wars combined. The UNO also saw the nuclear countries
build up massive stockpiles of nuclear weapons, said to
be over 36,000 warheads strong. Moreover, 80 countries
have also stockpiled chemical and biological weapons.
Even though the UNO has many achievements to its credit,
in the ultimate analysis, one has to admit that it has
fallen far short of the expectations of its founding
fathers. One is reminded of what Jan Tinbergen, the 1969
Noble Laureate in Economics who said, "Mankind's
problems can no longer be solved by national
governments. What is needed is a World Government. This
can best be achieved by strengthening the United Nations
system." In the present

world scenario, it has become all the more necessary to
strengthen the UNO, by suitably amending its Charter, so
as to make it a more effective body for preventing wars,
resolving international disputes, countering terrorism,
conservation and protection of environment, ensuring
nuclear disarmament and evolving enforceable world law,
to ensure world peace and prosperity and a safe future
for the world's children.

World Judiciary — Humanity's Last Hope

On behalf of now over
52,000 CMS students representing the world's two billion
children, I Jagdish Gandhi, wrote many letters to Dr
Kofi Annan, the then Secretary General of the UNO
requesting that children's right to a safe future be
recognised and included in the UN's Declaration of
Rights of the Child. The then Secretary General chose to
reply (vide letter dated 16th July, 2001) to one of my
letters (dated 29th June, 2001) in which I had also
congratulated him on his reappointment, and even then Dr
Annan only thanked me for compliments and made no
mention of my request on behalf of world's children.
Clearly, the United Nations is neither ready to grant
nor deny this right to the children! Having failed to
find justice anywhere, CMS had the option of either
keeping silent or of taking the children's case to the
world judiciary. Having appointed itself as the
custodian of the welfare of world's children, born and
yet-to-be-born, CMS has decided to approach the Chief
Justices of the World and solicit their support in
favour of the children's cause. The children's last hope
rests with the world judiciary, for, Judges are the only
authority who are trusted and respected by all, the
masses as well as the classes.

If the Judiciary fails to grasp this historic
opportunity, then nothing can save the world from total
annihilation in a third world war or an eco-catastrophe.

Since the minds of the judges are conditioned towards
justice and also because they are capable of
facilitating the establishment of a new world order as
their views and pronouncements would act as a mandate
from the people to advise world leaders on the vital
issue of saving humanity and ensuring a safe future to
world's children and also those yet unborn. Only the
Judiciary is capable of paving ways, by impressing upon
the world leaders, to bringing about 'enforceable
International / World Law' binding on all countries and
peoples of the world either by reform of the UNO to
create a body - a World Parliament for enacting such
world law or by a new world order. It is also expedient
to empower the International Court of Justice by
extending its jurisdiction.

The voice of the united World Judiciary cannot be
ignored by other sections of the world, how-so-ever
powerful. Children expect that the judges of the world
shall unite for the sake of humanity's survival and for
safe future for children and generations to come.

Hence world children's only hope — the World's
Judiciary!

On behalf of children of the world,

(Dr Jagdish Gandhi)
Convener of the International
Conferences of Chief Justices of the World
Founder-Manager, CMS, Lucknow, India
www.cmseducation.org/article51